Long Beach police say a woman was killed while trying to cross a street in the Belmont Heights neighborhood this afternoon.
The crash was reported shortly before 1 p.m. at Fourth Street and Ximeno Avenue. The woman died at the scene, and police cordoned off the intersection in all directions as they investigated. Her age was not immediately available.
Long Beach police block off the intersection of Fourth Street and Ximeno Avenue after a deadly crash on Tuesday, March 24, 2026.
Investigators determined a 53-year-old driver was heading eastbound in a 2003 Toyota SUV when she made a left turn onto Ximeno Avenue and struck the woman, who was in a marked crosswalk, police said.
The driver remained at the scene. Detectives do not believe speed, impaired driving or distracted driving were factors in the crash, police said.
Laura Martel, who has lived in the neighborhood for four years, said the intersection is a known hazard. She had a close call last night when a turning driver jumped the curb and nearly struck her dog and her friend, she said.
“People run this light all the time,” Martel said.
Traffic deaths have been a scourge recently in Long Beach. Last year, there were 53 fatal collisions, the most in more than a decade.
Pedestrians, cyclists and people on scooters took the brunt of the death toll. Statistics show 32 people were killed while walking or riding in Long Beach, outpacing the number of people murdered: 29.
After pressure from residents, local politicians recently said they want to speed up the pace of safety improvements.